35 Ford Coupe

[FRANK BASILE]

One more thing Brett.
In the pull down,did you find any locust remnants.
The , 74 Southern States rod run had us hitting swarms of the buggers.
A year later I was still finding dried carcasses.
Frank.

[ram-rod]

we need to see a little more about this car as it goes back together please

[35coupe]

Hey Frank,
Locusts??? I had to read that one a few times.... geez, what a bugger to clean out the grille and horns after that one.

I vaguely recall some foreign 'bodies' in the radiator fins... might have a closer look at them later today.... when I at the 'folks place. Dad might remember some too.

Ram-rod,
Yes... there are pics comming... need to add some colour to this thread... just need to find them all. Will start with the early ones, and work my way through.

[ram-rod]

Krewsen (ron) just got down here from QLD it was great to be able tell him the 35 had been found and was in good hands
we were all members of the eagles 27 years ago

[35coupe]

G'Day ram-rod,
I'm glad to hear that journey of the The Coupe is appreciated. I managed to get a few photos of chassis progress, and of the body, all of which will be scanned and photobucketed soon.

But anyway, the other day I had a look at the old ASR mags, and decided to scan a few of the pics in.

This is ASR #15 1980. Rod show in NSW. Interestingly, the FASTBREAD Delivery belonged to a bloke called Peter Konig... Peter has actually done a bit of work for me on other projects, through his successful business Hoppers Stoppers. If only I'd known this when I last saw him...




In the same ASR, The Coupe had a 2-page spread . This is pre-louvres, and pre-flames. 307 with 2 barrel. Muncie fitted. Top Chopped/windows tinted. Tank Fairlane diff. Front brakes were upgraded to solid discs.

Frank - the spare wheel is still there! I like the Ford logo on the cover.... I recall that rear seat being uncomfortable for me... at age 5! Note that the very same ASR issue also had a '36 Roadster for sale, by a Leslie Mathieson of Niddrie.





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ASR #18 1981 placed the car at the Vic Hot Rod show. The very same issue had the car up for sale.... the car was bought by a bloke who lived up the road from Domenic Calderone, also in Endeavour Hills. My father would not buy the car until two years later.





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Much more to come...

[7cylinderHEMI]

theres a lot of interesting stuff in that ad page ,the Ted Bishop Model A tourer ,a 57 sport coupe for 5 Gs ono,Kevin Parkers tourer now in Geelong ,John Isacs A coupe 8 grand ,how times have changed ,,

[ram-rod]

looks like nomadawhat had his up for sale that month also

[FRANK BASILE]

Plenty of changes in a short space of time . Looks like 5 years had the front Cussy drums go to disc,the 283 with 3 speed swapped out , and the 64 Galaxy 9" diff to tank Fairlane,and the 48Ford steering box swapped out.
Paint went from AMI "deep russett"[a form of metallic light bergundy] to green.
The back seat was in place back around 79/80 when I spotted the then green Coupe parked in Burwood ,and raked a U turn to go and have a look ,and confirmed as 'my oldy"
Last I ever saw of it to recognise
Frank.

[35coupe]

Hey! Some more pics...

Here it is, late 1983 as purchased by Greg Carroll. Notice the 'Champ' wheels have replaced the 12 slotters, and the front and rear bumpers have been reinstated, along with the stock head lights and horns.

The previous owner had also fitted a 350 sbc, with Holley Double Pumper, and Edelbrock single plane manifold. It was certainly too much engine for the car, given the unboxed frame, and stiff front/rear leaf springs.

Dad bought the car, for the potential he saw in it. Knowing a full rebuild would be required, main plans at the time of purchase were a colour change, revised front/rear appearance, changed stance and wheels, plus modifications to make the car more driveable (chassis and engine)



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I vividly recall when I first saw it parked in the driveway, along with the first drive. I remember sitting in the front seat (at 5 years old), being taken for my first spin. I couldn't believe it the noise, the feel, it was bloody unreal. Much better than Mum's Centura... ....mustard yellow with tan vinyl interior







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The Coupe was Dad's daily drive for about 3 years. He kept it basically as he bought it, with the exception of adding another pair of mufflers to quiten it down a bit.

Dad recalls the car being very hard to drive. It had terrible handling, and apparently was damn frightening under heavy throttle. He described it as "like driving a truck with a really, really powerful engine" Clutch was heavy with poor feel. Brake pedal feel was all wrong. Bump steer was full on, etc...

The front end would frequently pull itself apart - the upper shock mounts would break from the frame, and Dad was having the mounts rewelded with help from the previous owner. After a few episodes of this, along with a solid rear hit from a Melbourne City taxi, Dad retired the car from daily use...





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Here she is, stored in the the back yard late ~1986. Not a lot good to say about this photo. Even poor Pepa was going through hard times....

Note the bodyfiller starting to show typical signs of protest



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1987/88 in the new garage. It would stay here, safe but untouched until the 1990s....



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Note the exhaust still running 'over' the rails...



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Difficult to see in the pic, but that upper damper mount is VERY messy. We have some later pics of the bare frame with plenty of detail to show.



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Hmmmm.... bodyfiller showing us that there is PLENTY of work to do. Nonetheless, nice rake on that C-pillar!



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350 Chev with 650DP was described as stock by prevous owner. Revved pretty hard through...

[nomadawhat]

looks like nomadawhat had his up for sale that month also

And no one wanted it so I kept it - glad I did.

Ian
Say hi to Ron for me and tell him it's bloody hot and humid up here, no wonder he is visiting Melbourne. We are in sunny wet Brisbane for about 4 weeks.

Des

[nomadawhat]

That's about the way I had heard it was a long time ago, and is good to hear it is finally getting some much needed TLC. I remeber Dom finishing the coupe and then taking it to Qld for a holiday as a test run, and he used it quite often. Also recall going with him to Shepparton for a run - that back seat was small but if you sat side saddle it was OK.

Des

[FRANK BASILE]

The shocker bracket initially broke on the Hume highway at Tarcutta in Jan 74 whilst heading to Sydney on our honeymoon.I am sure it was the LH side.
We stopped at a workshop, Ford dealer ,trying to remember, might have been Gundagai .
They welded it, and I recall a smart arse bloke saying "Whoever welded this would not get a job here".
Well it busted off again closer to Sydney.
We ended up staying at my wifes sisters place at Seven Hills,her husband was in the Navy at the time ,and offered to get it welded up through his "contacts".down at the yards
I just opted to remove the other shocker.
Made it a point to drop in on the Ford dealer on the return trip,found the smart arse, showed him his busted weld and asked if he was ready to quit. given his statement to me on the way up .
It was pissing rain by the time we got to Albury,and the wipers packed up.[Land Rover motor].
The windows were getting foggy with humidity, I wind the screen out ,my wife winds the rear window down,and everything light [road maps, scarf ,some clothing, on the rear parcel shelf flutters out the back
Frank.

[46 deluxe]

The windows were getting foggy with humidity, I wind the screen out ,my wife winds the rear window down,and everything light [road maps, scarf ,some clothing, on the rear parcel shelf flutters out the back
Frank.

And what were ya doing to make the windows foggy Frank

[Bob Honeybrook]

Come On! He was on his Honeymoon after all.

[Mr Model A]

Come On! He was on his Honeymoon after all.

Frank even broke a shocker bracket, wot a legend